Nightingale Court at hotel ‘a strange but good idea’
CASES HAVE ALREADY STARTED BEING HEARD AT VENUE
A NEW court set up in a Nottingham hotel has been described as a good use of the venue, even if it is a bit unusual.
In a bid to address the huge backlog of court cases brought on by the pandemic, the Nightingale Court has been set up at the Mercure Nottingham Sherwood Hotel.
As of January, there were more than 8,000 outstanding cases at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court and more than 1,000 cases at Nottingham Crown Court.
Nightingale courts have been set up by the Government to deal with the backlog of cases caused by delays due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Mercure Hotel is the first to host a Nightingale Court in the East Midlands.
Cases have already started being heard at the venue with a tent and security staff visible at a separate entrance at the front of the hotel.
People could be seen being scanned as they entered, similar to the process at other courts in the city.
Just over the road at Five Hills Food and Wine convenience shop, manager Maryem Deniz said: “I’d prefer if it was just a hotel really, as we used to get a lot of customers from that.
“But then I’m not even sure when hotels can reopen as the other hotels around here are all still closed.
“Since the pandemic started, there’s been more problems with homeless people as I think they are staying at the Mercure too.
“I think it’s a bit strange, maybe not the right place, what about using churches?
“If it helps the business, that might be OK.”
Sandhya Rengamannar, 35, lives close to the hotel and doesn’t think it will affect residents.
The full-time mum said: “I think it’s a good idea to get cases sorted quicker, rather than people waiting to be seen.
“It’s a good way of finding a purpose for the hotel. Anything that helps people is good.” Andrew Galea, 44 of Sherwood said: “The setting shouldn’t really matter as long as all the processes are the same. “I would say it looks a bit ridiculous, but the function isn’t. “My family were wondering what was happening, after we saw the security staff there yesterday.
“But you can’t even tell what’s happening there so it won’t affect anyone.”
The Ministry of Justice has said the new court in the confere nce suite of the hotel will “free up the nearby Crown Court for more jury trials.” It will hear non-custodial criminal cases and be able to issue fines and community service orders.
Courts Minister, Lord Wolfson QC, previously said: “This is part of our action to tackle the impact of the pandemic on our courts and reduce delays for victims.
“As a result, the number of outstanding cases in the magistrates’ is falling and the number of trials being listed in the Crown Court increases each week.”
This is part of our action to tackle the impact of the pandemic on our courts Lord Wolfson, QC